


Burning in Fell

by Eiznel24



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Hints of OT4 if you squint, Kedgeup, M/M, Please Keep That In Mind, dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 15:46:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17368769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eiznel24/pseuds/Eiznel24
Summary: "YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING. WHY ARE THERE TWO OF YOU!?"The words that will mark the beginning of a rather rocky relationship.Or, a late Christmas Present





	Burning in Fell

**Author's Note:**

> GANZ, I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LATE. I HOPE THIS MAKES UP FOR IT. [slaps hands together] PLEASE ENJOY.

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE JOKING. _WHY ARE THERE TWO OF YOU_!?”

-

_heh. those were the first words you said to me when we met._

_I WAS UNDERSTANDABLY OFFPUT CONSIDERING MY OWN DRECK OF A BROTHER._

_hey, i thought we’d agreed on you being nicer to red?_

_WE HAD. BUT IT IS APPROPRIATE TO RECALL HIM AS I VIEWED HIM THEN, IS IT NOT? WE ARE BEING NOSTALGIC, AFTER ALL._

_i guess? just don’t go back to being a bonehead._

_…why are you looking at me like that?_

_hey easy, hahaha! i’m a delicate flower, you know._

_DELICATE, MY FOOT._

-

   “ain’t interested in sharing the name, bud. so you gotta go.”

Sans didn’t move, just smiled more widely at his counterpart.

   “you sound awfully confident, chum. and…far as i know?” he looked around at the snow-covered forest he stood in. “i was here first. you two are the ones that are a ways from home.”

He narrowed his eyesockets and tilted his head to the side, his grin becoming dangerous.

   “so why don’t you make like a tree and leaf?”

The two black and red clad skeletons paused for a second before the first began to raucously laugh while the edgy Papyrus began stalking towards him, growling loudly.

   “I ALREADY DEAL WITH SANS’S DRIVEL, I WILL **NOT** DEAL WITH IT FROM YOU AS WELL.”

Summoning jagged red bone constructs to hover at his side before grabbing one of them to clutch like a sword, the tall skeleton stood a few feet away, scowling and attempting to make himself look imposing.  The other Sans had stopped laughing and was stalking up behind his taller companion, anticipation making his sharp-toothed grin wide. Sans kept his hands buried in his jacket, still completely relaxed.

   “you two done posturing yet? cos if we’re gonna do this, it needs to be quick. paps is going to be expecting me soon,” he drawled.

   “YOU MOUTHY PIECE OF—” the red Papyrus snarled before lunging at Sans. His brother cursed, lunging after him. “boss wait, it’s a—”

They both went flying, split up and sent crashing into two trees on either side of Sans.

Sans’s counterpart groaned.

   “…trap.”

A cage of blue bone sprung up around both skeletons and they froze, glancing toward each other before looking at Sans. He still hadn’t moved. His expression seemed even more bored than before.

   “so here’s the thing. if you’re anything like me and paps, you,” he pointed at the shorter skeleton “will try to shortcut outta there and catch me by surprise. and you,” he now pointed at the taller, “would try to either brute force the trap and withstand the damage or try to reach me with long range from where you’re at. but thing is…” Blasters surrounded both of them. “i don’t have paps’s sense of mercy. you pose a threat to my bro, my world, my reality.” His left eye lit up in cyan magic. “i won’t hesitate to dust ya the _second_ either of ya move.”

   “COME AND FIGHT ME LIKE A REAL MONSTER, YOU WORTHLESS COWARD!!” Edgy Papyrus shrieked. “YOUR UNDERHANDED TRICKS ARE THE MARK OF A MONSTER WORSE THAN TRASH!!”

Sans flicked his eyelights over to the other him and noticed that the monster had crossed his arms and was grinning to himself in a way that seemed more bitter than genuinely amused. Hm. He looked back at the Papyrus clone.

   “hey tone it down, bud. pretty sure everyone can hear your insecurity from hotlands.”

   “ _EXCUSE ME?!!?!?”_

He ignored the outburst.

   “you two are gonna need names.” Sans hummed to himself, tapping one bony finger against the side of his jaw. “you, edgy mcgee.” He pointed at the taller skeleton. “you’re edge from here on out. and you’re red,” he concluded with a vague gesture to the other Sans.

   “I AM THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS!” Edge cried indignantly. “I WILL NOT BE SECOND FIDDLE TO SOMEONE WHO IS UNDOUBTEDLY WEAKER THAN MYSELF!”

Edge found Sans standing outside his prison a second later, the Gaster Blasters growling with increasing intensity as their jaws fell open.

   “boss!”

He didn’t spare his brother a look, instead glowering at his captor.

   “watch it, buddy. you’re not exactly in a position to protest, and i don’t like people talkin’ bad about my bro.”

Edge said nothing in response, choosing instead to keep glaring.

   “better.”

Sans walked away and waved a hand, dismissing both prisons. Shoving his hands back in his pockets, he began to talk, fully expecting both to follow.

   “you should probably stay with me and paps. I’m sure we’ve got a few extra blankets and pillows somewhere in case we ever expected guests.” He paused. “be glad it was me that offered, not paps. Pretty sure he’d probably try to put you up in the shed and feed you like a pair of dogs.”

He sighed softly and closed his eyes when he heard the swift crunch of boots and the whistle of a bone construct swinging towards him from behind.

Edge blinked, his sneer becoming a confused frown when his strike hit air where that cowardly skeleton had been standing before.

Red glanced away, frowning.

A bone construct slammed into the back of Edge’s skull, knocking him forward several feet into the snow with a pained grunt. With an angry snarl, he tried getting up, but another construct launched itself into his temple, making his snarl peter off into a groan. He didn’t get up again.

Sans walked up to the still body, looking faintly annoyed.

   “i’m glad my brother never ended up like you.”

He sighed to himself again, lifting Edge with blue magic and beginning to move in the direction of town again. Surreptitiously he glanced at Red and felt a flash of guilt.

   “you didn’t try to defend him. why?”

Red glared at him, the gold of his tooth glinting slightly.

   “i was saving him from getting slapped around more. ya don’t know him like i do. he wouldn’ta stopped.”

Sans huffed softly, his mouth turning up at the corner.

   “nah, i figured that. paps would’ve done the same. he doesn’t know when ta quit.” He looked around silently before continuing. “…y’ain’t mad at me, are ya? for doin that, i mean.”

Red sent him a strange look before snorting. “the hell does it matter, dude? you tryna make friends or sumthin?”

A sigh was his response.

   “it’d be a lot less awkward if we were civil with each other.”

For some reason, Red seemed to find that hilarious, the monster beginning to cackle loudly and shaking his head. “tell that to boss.”

Sans tilted his head curiously, maneuvering around a large branch that was sticking out of the ground. Red hopped over it. “why do you call him boss?”

   “that’s what he is. he was lieutenant in the royal guard just under undyne. he was such an effective drill sergeant that the captain left the bulk of the training up to him. turns out most of the bastards in the underground are more terrified of him than they are of the captain.” Red snorted. “not that i blame ‘em. boss runs all those sorry sacks into the ground with how hard he pushes ‘em. all the tireless energy and drive he had as a babybones got put toward being a ruthless bastard in the training field. it’s pretty damn awesome.”

He glanced over in Sans’s direction and saw that the weirdo was smiling crookedly. He bristled, leaning his body away. “the hell you smilin’ for?”

   “so that’s what I sound like when i talk about my bro. you must really care about ‘im.”

Rolling his shoulders uncomfortably, Red pointedly kept his eyelights glued to the treeline. “boss is all I got,” he said gruffly. “where i come from, having a person you can trust can be the difference between havin’ a warm place to stay and gettin’ yer shit kicked around every day by monsters who think they’re the ruler of the damn underground.”

Sans scrunched his browridges together, feeling the weirdest urge to comfort his other self. He spared a glance to Edge, then focused on Red again.

   “the opinion doesn’t seem to be entirely mutual. what’s his dig? i saw you clam up earlier, which tells me we got similar tactics.”

Red bristled again, and growled lowly under his breath. “it’s not…look dude, you gotta understand that things are different where I’m from.” His burning red eyelights locked onto Sans’s and unconsciously the blue-clad skeleton slowed his pace. “you gotta be cold, you gotta be ruthless. A lot of that involves underhanded methods…and for some reason, that shit never jived with boss. he’s got this real deep-seated sense’a honor, and he thinks that anyone that can’t face him one-on-one ain’t worth fightin’ or givin’ the time’a day.” Red’s expression softened, and he gave a wistful sort of smile. “i always told myself that boss didn’t belong in that place. he deserved to be somewhere his talents could shine without all the backstabbing ugly bullshit he has to deal with on the daily. i fit better in that hellhole than he ever could.”

   “i doubt that.”

   “huh?”

   “i think you’d belong in a place like this too. just because we ain’t got the brightest disposition don’t mean we don’t deserve to be in a good place.”

Red stared openly, not entirely comprehending. Sans gave a mildly uncomfortable smile, realizing he should probably be following his own advice. That’s when he realized that they hadn’t been paying attention to where they were walking. A fast execution of blue magic had Red getting pulled toward him and away from the tree he would’ve run into. Red squirmed uncomfortably.

   “alright alright leggo. shit feels weird, didn’t know that’s what it was like.”

Sans snorted.

   “yep, sure does.”

He shifted Edge’s body away from another on-the-path tree and felt himself begin to breathe harder.

    _‘damn, this is pathetic.’_

   “so tell me more about your bro. i wanna compare notes.”

He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his jacket for emphasis. Red balked at him.

   “you actually have fuckin _notes_!?”

Sans began to laugh. With a flick of his wrist, the paper snapped open to reveal that it was a special edition of Junior Jumble that had scrawls in red crayon all over the paper.

   “nah, this is just one of the first puzzles paps ever did. look, he drew us in the corner with a big soul surrounding us both. ain’t it the coolest?”

Red stared at it for a second before smirking.

   “you look like a sausage with toothpicks.”

Sans grinned.

   “hey, i’d like ta see you do better at the tender age of 3.”

   “boss was makin’ mashed potato sculptures at 2 and they were _way_ better than…that.”

   “the proof’s in the potatoes, buddy. cough up the evidence, then i’ll believe ya.”

   “wait, ain’t it ‘proof’s in the puddin’? and that ain’t even what the phrase means!”

   “i never knew myself ta be so pedantic.”

   “you’re full of shit!”

Sans laughed again.

-

Edge squeezed his eyesockets shut tighter before slowly pulling them back open, desperately trying to ignore the throbbing ache in his head. Where was he?

   “you must be hurtin’ still. sorry, lemme fix that.”

The ache eased enough to be tolerable.

   “healin’ ain’t my forte, unfortunately. the rest’ll have to go away on its own.”

Sharp eyelights swiveled to fixate on the short skeleton standing at the foot of the stairs, which led him to take quick stock of his surroundings. He was in a living area, wrapped in a blanket on a green couch. His house? Similar to theirs, but not. Theirs wasn’t so…warm. The other Sans’s expression wasn’t as guarded as before, and he regarded him with an easy smile.

    “hey sunshine. i’m bringin’ home food from grillbz later. i can save paps’s culinary masterworks for another time.”

Something had changed. What?

   “try to relax, edge. we dunno how long you’re gonna be here, so might as well try to get used to us.”

Edge scowled at the name, but conceded. It _would_ get confusing if two Papyruses were running about, wouldn’t it? And he _was_ in someone else’s universe. …he supposed. Didn’t mean he was gonna take it laying down.

   “I DON’T TAKE ORDERS FROM YOU.”

Sans snorted and moved toward the front door, taking no offense.

   “sure thing, ‘boss’.” he drawled, obviously sarcastic.

   “JUST SO. GOOD, YOU CATCH ON QUICKLY.” Edge said triumphantly.

He heard low laughter before the door closed. Now what about that was so funny? Scowling, Edge moved to get off the couch and abruptly faceplanted on the floor, snarling loudly in pain.

   “WHAT IN—”

Just how had his legs gotten so tangled in the blanket!? He fought against the contraption, getting gradually more incensed the longer his legs went without being free. That’s how Papyrus found him, mid-roll and clawed fingers ready to tear the blankets to shreds.

  “OH, HELLO, YOU MUST BE THE ONE SANS MENTIONED! DO YOU NEED HEL—”

  “ ** _ARGHAHGHGRHGHARGHL_** _!!_ ”

Biting back the strange urge to laugh, Papyrus hurried toward the snarling skeleton, doing his best to help disentangle his legs. A wild flail had Papyrus off balance and windmilling before he ended up on the floor too, quickly bracing his hands on either side of Edge to keep from crushing him. Edge abruptly froze, a scandalized glare warping his features. Papyrus beamed at him.

  “HELLO, I’M PAPYRUS! YOU HAVE BEAUTIFUL EYES!”

  “REMOVE YOURSELF FROM MY PERSON AT ONCE, YOU INFERIOR CESSPOOL OF DEBAUCHERY!!”

Blinking in surprise, Papyrus leaned back, his expression a little hurt.

   “WELL THAT’S A LITTLE RUDE. I’VE NEVER EVEN KISSED ANYONE BEFORE!”

   “THEN WHAT WAS THAT LASCIVIOUS PAWING OF MY BODY!?”

Now a little scandalized himself, Papyrus stood, planting his hands on his hips and frowning.

   “WOULD YOU RATHER I HAVE FALLEN ON YOU?”

With one more angry kick, Edge was free and climbing to his feet, brushing himself off.

   “I WOULD _RATHER_ YOU HAVE NOT GOTTEN CLOSE TO ME AT ALL!”

He glared at Papyrus and took in the ridiculous outfit, his jagged mouth twisting into a sneer.

   “I DON’T NEED A LOWLIFE LIKE YOU THINKING THEY CAN CURRY FAVOR WITH ONE SUCH AS MYSELF.”

Now Papyrus _definitely_ looked hurt, but he immediately smothered it under a stern frown.

   “I THINK THAT’S QUITE ENOUGH OUT OF YOU, MISTER!”

One indignant squawk and several angry flails later, Edge was being dragged out the house by the collar and toward the shed off to the side.

   “UNHAND ME AT ONCE!!”

   “NOT UNTIL YOU LEARN SOME MANNERS!”

They heard a snicker behind them and paused to turn and see Sans standing behind them with bags in his hands, a bewildered smile on his face.

   “uh…am i missin’ somethin’?”

Papyrus brightened like a lightbulb and waved with his free hand. Edge chose that moment to begin resisting again, but was mildly horrified to learn that Papyrus was strong. Insanely so. Stronger than him. HOW?!!?!??

   “OH, HELLO BROTHER! I AM JUST TAKING THE ANGRY ME TO THE SHED TO GET SOME AIR AND COOL DOWN.”

Sans blinked, his smile twitching wider before he shrugged and moved to open the door to the house.

   “ah, carry on then.”

Flushing a dark crimson at the constant embarrassments, Edge hunched his shoulders and stared at the ground, no longer fighting as Papyrus continued to lead him. Once they were inside, Papyrus directed him to a stool with a simple “SIT PLEASE”. Seated with his arms crossed and shoulders still hunched, Edge refused to make eye contact, face still burning.

   “May I ask what’s wrong?” came the unexpectedly gentle prod.

Blinking rapidly, Edge looked up at Papyrus so quickly his neck cracked.

   “WHAT?”

   “I have been nothing but helpful and I’m sure Sans has been the same,” that got a derisive snort out of Edge, “he _has_ , I know it. You wouldn’t have been on our couch otherwise. In fact, he seems to be going out of his way for you. So why are you still so angry?”

An ugly sneer was sent in his direction.

   “WHAT’S WRONG, INFERIOR ME? ARE YOU JEALOUS?”

Papyrus shook his head immediately.

   “No, I am not. In fact, I find myself _proud_ that Sans is doing so much for you…for both of you. As far as I know, Sans and the other him are getting on like a house on fire, which is amazing. I had not thought he would have…” Papyrus sighed, sinking into a crouch and planting his elbows on his knees, hands rising to lace together near his mouth. “He thinks I fail to notice, but I can tell he does not like himself, that he’s sad. What about your Sans? Is he…sad?”

Edge wasn’t sure how to feel about the turn in conversation, and was mildly unsettled that his anger had bled away so easily. He shifted, mimicking Papyrus’s pose on his stool, his eyelights fixating on the ground. His voice was hard.

   “I DON’T SPEND A LOT OF TIME AROUND MY SANS. MOST OF MY DAY IS SPENT TRAINING THOSE WORTHLESS FOOLS IN THE GUARD WHO THINK THEY ARE BETTER THAN THE DIRT UNDER MY HEEL. I COME HOME TO FIND THE HOUSE IN A WORSENING STATE OF DISREPAIR, OF SPOILING FOOD, OF UNLAUNDERED CLOTHES. AS GREAT AS I AM, I DO NOT HAVE THE MEANS TO CARRY US BOTH, SO AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, HE IS NO BETTER THAN THOSE FOOLS I TRAIN.”

Looking horrified, Papyrus rocketed to his feet and reached out a hand to grab Edge’s shoulder before stopping at the glare sent his way.

   “You can’t honestly believe that!!”

   “YOU HAVE NOT LIVED WITH IT AS I HAVE. NO APOLOGIES, NO ATTEMPTS TO GET BETTER. HE IS _WORTHLESS_.”

Papyrus shook his head quickly, kneeling down and wrapping his hands around Edge’s joined ones. Edge attempted to pull away with a hiss, but Papyrus squeezed with a soft “please”. He stilled.

   “I _have_ lived with it. But your Sans is _not_ worthless, and he is not doing it on purpose as a strike against you. Chances are your brother is in pain, and he needs you! I do what I can for my Sans, no matter how little it may be, to show him that I know he’s there, that he’s important. Maybe you need to do the same?”

Edge stared at Papyrus, at a loss for once in his life. Papyrus smiled, squeezing his hands before letting go. “Has anyone ever told you you have a very intense stare?”

Edge abruptly stood and Papyrus followed.

   “It would explain things,” was the guttural mutter before he maneuvered around Papyrus and made for the entryway.

   “WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” Papyrus called in confusion.

   “OUT.”

Brow ridges furrowed, Papyrus did nothing this time to stop him.

-

Sans found Edge standing at the “bridge” that Papyrus had created.

   “sup, bud. paps said you had ta get air that was a bit fresher than the shed’s. don’t blame ya, pretty musty in there.”

Edge glanced at him out of the corner of his eyesocket, but said nothing. Sans awkwardly scratched at the back of his skull.

   “i got work soon, so i won’t be home ‘til later, but your food will prolly be in the fridge whenever you’re ready for it. take your time, alright? it’s good to just sit somewhere and think every once in a while.”

Sans shifted at the strange look Edge was sending him.

   “…YOU WORK?”

Scratching his head again, Sans huffed a laugh and shrugged.

   “yeah, uh…3 jobs, actually. it’s what’s keepin’ us afloat.”

Edge frowned.

   “WHAT ABOUT…PAPYRUS?” It was going to take a while to get used to that, his mouth tilting oddly at saying his own name. “HE WORKS, DOES HE NOT?”

Sans’s smile was soft.

   “nah, he’s puttin’ all his energy toward capturin’ humans so he can be part of the guard, and i cheer him on in the background.”

   “WHAT!?” was the shriek that came immediately after, which made Sans flinch. “ _YOU’RE_ THE ONE DOING ALL THE…BUT…WE…I…HE… _THAT MAKES NO SENSE!!!_ ”

   “edge, calm down. what are you talkin’ about?”

   “I’M THE ONE WITH THE JOB SUPPORTING THE HOUSEHOLD, AND SANS IS THE ONE TASKED WITH KEEPING THE HOUSE ORDERLY, WHICH HE FAILS MISERABLY AT. MY JOB IS ENOUGH TO KEEP US FED AND WARM.”

Sans made a considering noise.

   “i’ll talk to ‘im about it, but i’m pretty sure the guy’s in a slump and just needs a nudge in the right direction. take it from me, i used to be the same way.”

   “WHAT CHANGED?”

   “heh. i found paps passed out on the couch with a paper in his hands that had all the different places he’d looked to work. we were behind on all our payments, i was rackin’ up a helluva bill with grillbz. i hadn’t been tryin’ to find more work…and it was makin’ us suffer. i squared up after that and told paps to focus on his goals. he deserves the world, his dreams, everything. i’d do anything for my bro.”

He found himself backing up suddenly as Edge stalked into his personal bubble in the space of a breath. Sans didn’t think he’d ever seen such an intense stare in his life.

   “BUT HARDLY ANYTHING HAS CHANGED.”

   “hold on, what?”

   “I SEE IT IN YOUR EYES,” the tall skeleton clarified. “YOU ARE NOT ENTIRELY HAPPY. THAT BROTHER OF YOURS HAS NOTICED AS WELL AND HE’S TWISTING HIMSELF UP IN KNOTS OVER IT.”

Feeling slightly defensive, Sans immediately shot back, leaning up on the balls of his feet to get closer to Edge’s skull. Crimson eyelights sharpened in response.

   “yea well your bro ain’t exactly one hundred percent either, and he cares about you a helluva lot more than you seem to care about him. so i’d worry more about your own relationship with your bro than mine.”

The low growl Edge let out made Sans’s imaginary guts twist strangely.

   “YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL ABOUT MY BROTHER.”

   “does ‘worthless’ ring any bells? ya ain’t exactly been subtle, bud,” he growled back.

Edge felt something shift inside at hearing that growl. His voice was…deeper than Red’s? No, not deeper. Smoother. Powerful. _Pleasing_. He moved forward, grabbing a fistful of Sans’s jacket and shoving him against a nearby rocky outcropping. Edge snarled the words, his clawed grip nearly tearing the material he was clutching. Sans’s eye had lit up in cyan.

   “MY BROTHER IS THE ONLY THING IN THAT DREADFUL PLACE THAT I CARED ABOUT. I _HATED_ THAT HE NEVER SEEMED TO CARE. I HATED THAT I SEEMED TO BE THE ONLY ONE PUTTING IN ANY EFFORT FOR _ANYTHING_. HE IS THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE AND YET EVERY TIME I WENT HOME I FELT _ALONE_!” The snarl died down to a rasp. “EXCUSE ME FOR BEING A LITTLE _BITTER_.”

They stared at each other silently, their respective glares softening. Abruptly, Sans sighed and closed his eyes. He drooped his head, clanking it softly against Edge’s. The tall monster nearly dropped him at the contact.

   “you two have some serious communication issues.”

   “AND YOU ARE A KETTLE.”

Sans laughed under his breath, opening his sockets and locking gazes with Edge. Something there made him stop breathing, and Edge’s brow ridges furrowed in response. As if suddenly realizing how close intimately close they were, he backed away and dropped Sans as if his hand was burned. Catching himself just on time, Sans grumbled to himself. “thanks bud, being dropped is one’a my favorite pastimes.”

He brushed himself off and waved a single hand to the other skeleton.

   “i’m off. take care. remember – food’s in the fridge.” And then he was gone as if he’d never been standing there.

Edge moved back to the ledge and dug his thumb in a circular motion into the palm which had been holding Sans, a small frown on his face.

-

Sans arrived home to loud arguing and Papyrus wringing his hands outside on the doorstep.

   “paps, what’s goin’ on?”

   “OH SANS THANK GOODNESS YOU’RE HERE, THEY’VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR A WHILE NOW, AND NOTHING I SAID WOULD STOP THEM!”

Sighing guiltily at his hand in this, he nodded.

   “i shoulda figured that’d happen, i just didn’t think it’d be so—”

   “ _FINE, LEAVE LIKE THE COWARD YOU ARE_!!!”

Sans frowned.

   “…soon.”

He stepped inside the house and found Edge pacing the living room like a monster possessed. Upon hearing the door open, he about-faced and pointed an accusing claw at Sans.

   “THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!”

Sans raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. “i’m not sure what happened, but just give it a while.”

   “NO, I WAS RIGHT. HE REGRETS NOTHING THAT HE’S DONE, OR RATHER, FAILED TO DO, AND I WAS A FOOL FOR BELIEVING THAT HE WOULD. I WAS A FOOL FOR LISTENING TO EITHER OF YOU!”

Sans sighed again, running a hand over the top of his skull. This wasn’t going to get anywhere. He looked at Papyrus and nodded.

   “keep an eye out for red’s return, paps. i’m gonna take edgy mcgee here to blow off some steam.”

Papyrus saluted, the picture of serious business.

   “I’LL TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIM!”

Nodding again, he moved to Edge who was beginning to back up with a snarl. Before he could get too far, he latched a hand around a gauntleted wrist.

   “leeeeeet’s go, bud.”

And then they were both gone. Papyrus tilted his head at the empty space, humming softly. Sans never laid a hand on him, at least not since he’d gotten taller. Curious. Why _didn’t_ Sans ever touch him anymore? He suddenly missed the hugs from his childhood and felt his mouth turn downward at the thought.

   “When did things change…?”

-

Edge’s boots landed on hard stone and his senses immediately picked up the sound of rushing water in the distance. Waterfall? This place was incredibly dangerous in his universe, being as dark as it was. He yanked his arm away from Sans’s grip and let his vision clear. Red had never moved him like this. Then again, when had he ever seen Red move around as much as Sans did? It was…disorienting. He glanced around and noticed that this room was rather well lit for Waterfall…and it _enormous_. The cavern seemed to have no ceiling, the “stars” being mere pinpricks of light. A small stream cut through a quarter of the room, coming out of and going into naturally made holes in the walls. Craggy shelves spattered with moss jutted out from the walls and dotted throughout, Edge saw crystals in various shades of green and blue, some nearly his height bursting out of the ground. If he wasn’t mistaken, the light was coming from the crystals. It was…surprisingly beautiful.

   “alright. so you’ve got a bone to pick with me. go on. let it out. i can take it.”

Eyelights flaring, a glowing red bone construct formed in Edge’s right hand.

   “YOU HAVE A LOT OF SPINE TO THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME IN A DUEL.”

Sans grinned crookedly, feeling a small surge of delight that neither of the dark brothers were immune to puns.

   “to patella the truth, i don’t really think i can, but hey i’m gonna give it my all.”

Edge’s return grin was savage.

   “WE SHALL SEE.”

Sans wasted no time, sending forth a flurry of bone that swayed to and fro, followed immediately a large bone that cut straight through the middle. Raising a single hand and standing proudly, a glowing red shield appeared in front of Edge and deflected the projectiles with hardly a blink. When the last projectile flew to the side, he snapped his hand downward and sprinted forward in the space of a breath, swiping his construct in an upward motion and sending forth a wave of bones. Sans dodged, but cursed and forced himself to twist out of the way as several more waves followed. _Fast._ He was _really_ fast. He’d seen Papyrus in action before, and Papyrus was power with incredible precision, able to shift his strength and construct size with the steady control of a surgeon. This? This was relentless speed, ruthless and hair-raising (had he any hair) in its intensity. Why the hell had he not used all of this strength when they’d met? He yelped when he saw that Edge was in the air above him, arm drawn across his chest to do a backhanded swipe with his weapon. Several constructs flew from Sans’s hands, one flying into Edge’s weapon and knocking his body slightly to the side. Sans took the opportunity to scramble away and run up the side of one of the crags and sticking there with blue magic. He extended a hand and pushed several bone constructs out of the floor as Edge began running toward him.

   “CLEVER, SANS, BUT YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!”

A construct appeared beneath Sans’s feet and pushed him away from his perch, sending him flying toward the ground.

   “shit!”

His feet landed safely on the head of a large blaster. Idly, his hand patted his new perch.

   “damn, this limitation is seriously messin’ with me. gotta hit hard.”

He sent a cross-shaped wave of bones to the skeleton staring up at him followed by a blast from his perch, and summoned four smaller blasters to attack from behind. The light from the blasts shrouded Edge’s form, but not even a moment later, he felt himself being yanked off is perch and slammed to the floor. A wave of dizziness overcame him and he spared a glance downward where he saw what looked like a glowing red whip sword wrapped around his ankle. It released and went flying back to its owner where it reformed into the solid red construct from before. Sans stumbled to his feet and cursed again as Edge slammed his weapon into the ground and growing concentric waves of bone began speeding his direction with ominous rumbling thuds. He summoned another blaster and had it fire at the walls, burning a path he could safely pass through.

_‘this is gonna go on forever if we stay at range. or it’ll last until i run outta juice, which ain’t that far. shit. this is what i get for trying to…to what?’_

As he passed through the last wave, he saw Edge anticipating his arrival with a dark smirk. In a blur of movement, his arm was grabbed, a forearm was planted against his chest, a leg swept at his, and another blur of movement had him spinning around and slamming to the floor with Edge hovering over him and the forearm now digging into his neck. Sans felt all too aware of the heavy weight and the slight red flush of exhilaration on Edge’s cheekbones.

   “A WORTHY EFFORT, INDEED,” Edge purred.

Gulping, Sans disappeared from Edge’s grip and reappeared a few feet away. Despite having to quickly catch himself to avoid sprawling, Edge didn’t seem too ruffled. In fact, he seemed as pleased as he did before.

   “YOU DIDN’T USE ANY OF YOUR TELEPORTATION MOVES OR UNDERHANDED TRICKS.”

Sans shrugged uncomfortably.

   “i heard ya appreciated honest fights. i thought it’d help your mood and help ya work out your frustration.”

   “VERY CONSIDERATE OF YOU, SANS. I’M VERY… _APPRECIATIVE_.”

It looked like Edge wanted to eat him alive. What…he finally noticed the small cut high on Edge’s left cheekbone, a faint trickle of violently red magic seeping out. Cursing himself again, he moved forward, unthinking, and gathered what small bit of healing magic he could muster to his hand. He raised it to the wound, but his wrist was abruptly grabbed and yanked away, the magic in it petering off.

   “LEAVE IT,” Edge growled. “YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE TO LAND A HIT ON ME SINCE THE CAPTAIN, AND I KEEP ANY WOUNDS I MANAGE TO RECEIVE. THEY ARE BADGES OF PRIDE.”

Edge’s grip on him felt like it was burning.

   “so that scar over your eyesocket…” Now that he thought about it, the wound _was_ awfully clean, like it was done with a magic weapon.

   “WAS HER, YES. IT WAS A PROMISE TO MYSELF TO BECOME FASTER, MORE POWERFUL. NO ONE HAS TOUCHED ME SINCE. UNTIL YOU.”

The grip tightened and Edge moved closed enough that Sans could feel the warmth radiating off his body. Close enough that when Edge’s voice dropped to a purring murmur, Sans could feel it in his soul.

   “What else are you capable of, I wonder…? What other secrets do you keep in that small body of yours?”

A startling flare of arousal swept through Sans and he ported away again at the feeling, his breathing shakier than before.

   “that’s a weird line of questioning, bud. besides, secrets are a secrets for a reason.”

Edge’s jagged mouth curled upward again.

   “Ah, but therein lies the rub. Secrets are meant to be uncovered.”

   “look, i dunno what you’re gettin’ at, but…whatever is goin’ on here? it’s wrong.”

Glowing red eyelights narrowed. He began moving towards Sans again, and again Sans found himself pinned by that stare.

   “What about it is wrong?”

Sans made an erratic gesture with his hand.

   “you’re an alternate version of my bro, edge. this…” he shook his head, feeling his face darken as Edge moved into his space again. “this ain’t normal,” he finished hoarsely.

   “Nothing about this is normal,” Edge said. “Regardless, I remain curious. Enthralled, even.”

_This is what my Sans would have become had I been more attentive. A powerful, hard-working, glorious monster, all under the veneer of carelessness. It’s beautiful…and I want it. I want it all._

Sans wasn’t exactly sure how it happened, but Edge had at some point leaned down and kissed him while he’d been mentally panicking and deliberating. He froze, eyesockets wide with shock, and let out a high-pitched whine when he felt a hot tongue prodding at his teeth. Everything about Edge felt like fire. His tongue, his hands, his body. He opened his mouth to protest and gasped when that tongue plunged inside. Some part of him desperately attempted to resist, to push his body to move away, and it even imposed an image of his own brother over Edge to attempt to motivate him, but nothing worked. He simply stood there, shaking as Edge’s gloved hands skirted beneath his jacket, clawing lightly at his ribs. Sans’s instincts took over. Tentatively, his own tongue prodded at Edge’s and the taller skeleton seemed to sigh with pleasure, his grip becoming tighter, more aggressive. He began moving, backing Sans toward the nearest crystal, all while pushing his jacket off his shoulders.

   “this…this isn’t a good idea,” Sans breathed. “it’s so wrong, it’s…”

   “I am NOT your brother, Sans,” Edge snarled, silencing Sans. “No amount of projecting will change that.”

   “no, i…i didn’t mean—”

Edge kissed Sans again, moving his hands under Sans’s shirt and scraping more forcefully at his ribs. He got a strangled mix of a yelp and moan as a reward. Briefly he considered removing the shirt entirely, but decided that there were better things to move on to and instead left it hitched up near Sans’s sternum. His experience with sex was…limited. But he knew, or at least, he had a hypothesis, about what Sans’s weak spots were. He had, after all, seen Red in his room once, years ago in the dead of night when he was a teen. The event had been burned into his memory, and he hummed softly to himself as he dipped a single clawed finger into the waistband of Sans’s shorts and gently grazed along his iliac crest. Sans’s reaction was immediate, a full-body shudder and harsh breath sending pleased shivers through Edge’s bones. He nosed down to Sans’s neck and licked along the vertebrae, beginning to smile when Sans let out another breathy moan, the monster now beginning to squirm in his sandwiched position between Edge and the crystal.

   “ _All mine_.”

  “wh—”

The sound Sans let out was less of a yelp and more of a shout when Edge abruptly bit down hard on Sans’s neck, drawing…blood? Edge licked at the wound, tasting the fluid thoroughly and ignoring Sans’s hisses and renewed squirming. Something like blood, along with magic. _Interesting_.

   “More secrets for me to uncover; you’re full of them, aren’t you?” Edge murmured. “On the inside, you are a brilliant crimson, just like me, and on the outside, a breathtaking blue. Beautiful.”

   “you’re…” Sans panted, “not thinkin straight. ya…ya gotta step back, realize what you’re doin’. ya don’t even realize what you’re sayin’, do ya? just earlier today…didn’t ya wanna dust me?”

Edge deliberately ground their hips together and Sans emitted a low cry.

   “I didn’t know you then.”

   “y…haah…ya still don’t!”

The tall skeleton smiled darkly and moved in close enough that their teeth were nearly touching.

   “I know enough.”

Sans seemed a little flabbergasted at that statement, then shook his head in disbelief.

   “the both of you…are so impulsive.”

Edge ground against Sans again and growled, digging clawed hands into Sans’s hips.

   “Don’t compare us when I’m about to ruin you.”

He reached back, using his body to pin Sans to the backward-leaning crystal as he began to stroke at Sans’s tailbone. Sans began to writhe, his face suffused in blue, his legs coming up to hook around Edge’s waist and squeezing piteously. Edge drank in the sight, purring to himself in satisfaction as magic began to gather near where his fingers were stroking. His other hand sent a finger trailing down Sans’s spine. The combined effort resulted in a stronger glow manifesting in the front of his shorts and dense magic that was fainter gathering in the back. At this point, Sans was no longer putting up a fight, his head thrown back to lay on the crystal and his mouth open as he panted loudly. Edge’s own cock was already conjured and throbbing at this point, and he was swiftly losing patience with what a tempting sight Sans was presenting. Maneuvering his hands again, he pulled down Sans’s shorts enough to expose the part he wanted, and pulled open his pants, drawing himself out. At the movement, Sans lifted his head and blearily focused on the glowing red cock between them. He gulped silently.

   “is that….a ladder?”

Edge chuckled.

   “Never say that I am not generous.”

Sans tried to laugh in response but it came out as a wheeze.

   “’m not uh…all that good of a climber.”

   “Good thing I’ll be doing most of the work there. But I don’t expect you to be idle.”

   “wha?”

Edge nuzzled the side of Sans’s face before moving closer and speaking directly into where his ears would be.

   “I fully expect to watch you pleasure yourself, Sans. And I want you to watch _me_ as you do it.”

   “fuck…” Sans breathed, another bolt of arousal making the cock in his shorts twitch.

   “Precisely. Now, then…I believe you should get started.”

With shaky hands, Sans moved to free himself from his shorts, and they both watched, one far more hungrily than the other, as it sprang upward, a bead of precum already beginning to dribble down. He reached to grasp it when Edge’s voice stopped him. It was more gravelly than before, heavy with arousal.

   “ _Look at me_.”

Sans obeyed, and he felt the head of Edge’s cock press against the exposed hole at his pelvis. Edge’s was expression dark with concentration and the hellish red color of his eyelights flared as he began to push in. Sans began to stroke, the dual sensation making his mind stutter.

   “h-holy fuck, edge…”

The intensity of Edge’s stare fixated on him, occasionally flicking down to watch the way Sans would stroke himself. Every time he did so, his pace would falter, switching automatically to match with the timing of Sans’s strokes, and Sans eventually caught on, making his strokes longer or faster depending on what he felt he needed. He was burning. Everything felt like it was burning.

   “edge, i…i need more.” he latched his right hand onto the exposed part of Edge’s left arm. “please…”

Edge’s grip moved to latch onto Sans’s hips and squeezed hard. “As you wish.” And then he was slamming home, causing Sans to cry out and his left hand to nearly stop moving. “Keep looking at me,” was Edge’s guttural command and Sans had no choice but to listen, whimpering softly once he made eye contact. Edge’s harsh breath, his smoldering red eyes, the jangling of Edge’s belt, the increasingly wet sound of his strokes, and the slap of their bodies meeting…it was all driving him insane. Abruptly, Edge’s breath hitched, his eyesockets slamming shut and his hips stuttering as a different sort of warmth filled Sans. Sans wanted to sob. He’d been so close…!

   “ _NO,_ ” Edge snarled, and he clutched Sans tighter, still continuing to thrust, despite the violent shaking of his legs. His breathing grew increasingly ragged, and he wrapped a hand around Sans’s and began helping him stroke. Sans’s orgasm began drawing closer and he began moaning louder, squeezing Edge’s hips.

   “fuck, fuck, yes that’s good you’re so good edge oh hell—”

Going delirious with overstimulation, Edge leaned forward and bit down on the other side of Sans’s neck, not even caring that that may have been the wrong thing to do. Evidently it wasn’t, as Sans spasmed violently with a shout and came, blue-white cum covering both of their hands. Edge immediately sank to the floor, dragging Sans down with him and settling him on his lap, oblivious to the fact that they were still joined together.

It wasn’t even half a minute later that Sans climbed off of him—more like crawled—and stared at himself.

   “we…really did that.”

Edge looked up at him, finding the strength do dismiss his cock.

   “We did.”

He could _see_ the walls springing up around Sans.

   “…and how do you feel?”

   “Rather content.” He sent Sans a pointed glare. “And so would you if you didn’t immediately start thinking so hard about it.”

A little thrill of pleasure raced up his spine seeing the marks on Sans’s neck. Sans himself seemed to become aware of them and moved a hand up to heal the damage.

   “ _Don’t_ ,” Edge warned. “Those marks tell everyone that I’ve laid my claim.”

Sans stared at him incredulously.

   “do you know what you sound like right now? i’m not cattle that you can show off.”

   “Don’t.” he repeated. “If you heal them…” he trailed for a moment before smiling sharply. “I’ll simply put them there again. It’s been proven today that I surpass you in speed.”

Sans’s eye sockets narrowed dangerously. “and we both know i was handicapping myself for your benefit to appease your ‘honor’. don’t go getting full of yourself, edge.”

   “No, I believe it was _you_ that was full of me just a minute ago.”

   “watch it, bud. this is one’a the few times i ain’t up for jokin’.”

Now Edge was beginning to scowl. “WHY IN ALL THE UNDERGROUND ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A FIGHT? I HAVE NO REGRETS ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE DONE. IN FACT, I LOOK FORWARD TO FUTURE ENCOUNTERS.”

   “yeah maybe that’s the problem. you’re more similar to your bro than you think.”

   “WHAT IN THE _HELL_ IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?”

Sans stood and began to pace, his right hand clasped to his neck.

   “you’re assumin’ a helluva lot, edge. claim? future encounters? for all we know this was a one-time thing.”

Expression settling on a flat glare, Edge also stood, fixing his pants and standing tall.

   “I SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. YOU’RE PROJECTING AGAIN. EXCEPT INSTEAD OF SEEING YOUR BROTHER INSTEAD OF ME, YOU ARE PROJECTING YOUR OWN INSECURITIES ONTO MINE.” His voice became harsh. “BE A COWARD IF YOU SO CHOOSE, _SANS_ , BUT I WENT INTO THIS ENCOUNTER FULLY CONSCIOUS OF THE CHOICE I WAS MAKING. _YOU_ ARE THE ONE WITH THE DOUBTS.”

   “like you gave me a choice!?” Sans snapped. “i tried telling you to stop twice, but you didn’t! you didn’t give me the time to come to a decision on my own, you just made it _for_ me!”

   “THEN OBVIOUSLY YOU DIDN’T TRY HARD ENOUGH! YOU ARE THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO TELEPORT, REMEMBER?” Edge snapped back.

It was silent between them, and Sans’s eyesockets were empty as he stared at the floor.

   “you really are an asshole, you know that?”

And then he was gone.

Edge stared at the empty space for the span of three breaths before howling furiously at a monster that wasn’t even there.

-

It took two weeks for them to even be in the same room together, and even then it was awkward. Papyrus and Red tried getting answers out of their respective siblings, and then with their respective counterparts, but the only answer they got was that it was a “difference in opinion” or “NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, BACK OFF”. The bite marks were never discovered, hidden safely beneath the few turtlenecks Sans owned.

_YOU KEPT THEM, DESPITE YOUR ORIGINAL DISTASTE._

_yeah. for some reason, i never really had it in me to heal it myself._

_I WOULD HAVE HEALED THEM COMPLETELY, HAD YOU ASKED._

_after all that fuss you put up when i tried the first time? i didn’t see a point._

_HMM._

It took another two weeks for them to talk to each other, and another hour after that for Edge to apologize in such a petulant and blundering manner that Sans began to laugh to the point where he fell out of his chair. At that point the both of them felt that it was a good point to start over.

_IT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SOUND I HAD HEARD IN WEEKS._

_aw, c’mon. gonna get me blushin’ down to my bones._

_SANS._

_yeees, edgy mcgee?_

_SHUT UP._

_hehehehe._

**Author's Note:**

> I KNOW the ending is abrupt, I'm sorry. But I was getting WAY too many ideas and I'm fairly sure it would have turned into a full length fic and I already felt bad enough about being so late. I've really fallen in love with ot4 and all the involved separate pairings, though.


End file.
